


Bride of the Lake Monster

by reeby10



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Kelpie!Kylo, Kelpies, M/M, Marriage Proposal, May The Fourth Be With You, Pre-Relationship, Southern Gothic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>About twenty yards out was what looked like a ghostly white horse, almost glowing in the dim light of twilight, its long mane and tail trailing along the surface of the lake as it crept closer. As Hux watched, other horses rose from the dark water, inky blots with gleaming eyes that made Hux take a step back in shock.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bride of the Lake Monster

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be like a little (like max 500 words) thing for May the 4th Be With You and it kind of grew lol
> 
> Based on the painting [The Pond by Jaimie Whitbread](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/post/142798610172/megarah-moon-the-pond-by-jaimie-whitbread) bc for some reason Kylo was the first thing I thought when I saw the white kelpie ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I hope it came out as southern gothic-y as it was in my head, though of course kelpies aren't native to the US at all. Whatever, I'm sure they can migrate.
> 
> Thanks to Biff for the beta!

Hux meandered along the edge of the lake, staring out over the murky water fringed with stringy plants. Fog was gathering at the horizon as the sun dipped down and night fell, casting the whole area in faded grey light. It was eerily beautiful.

Unfortunately Hux couldn’t find it in himself to really enjoy it. Back in the house just over the hill, Hux’s father was having dinner with his stepmother and darling Brendol Jr. They hadn’t noticed his absence at dinner the past three weeks, so he was fairly certain they wouldn’t tonight. He’d needed to escape his room for a while and the lake always proved a suitable distraction.

They’d moved to the new house in the Louisiana countryside two months ago, and it had been the most miserable two months of Hux’s life. Things hadn’t been great before they left the city, but at least there had been distractions. Hux could hang out with his friends or go to parties or do any of a thousand other things that would keep him out of the house and away from his family. Out here, though, there wasn’t any escape.

Hux hadn’t wanted to move in the first place, hadn’t wanted to leave his friends and his school and everything else, but Brendol Sr. hadn’t cared. Morana had been dead set on the house in the country, constantly extolling the virtues of raising Hux’s eight-year-old brother away from the evils of the cit. That had been more than enough for Brendol Sr., and so here they were.

Shaking his head to clear away such thoughts, Hux continued around the muddy shoreline. Dwelling hadn’t done any good in the months since they’d moved, and it wouldn’t do any good now. What he really needed was a way to get out.

A splashing sound drew his attention to the water and he blinked, barely believing what he was seeing. About twenty yards out was what looked like a ghostly white horse, almost glowing in the dim light of twilight, its long mane and tail trailing along the surface of the lake as it crept closer. As Hux watched, other horses rose from the dark water, inky blots with gleaming eyes that made Hux take a step back in shock.

He knew exactly what these creatures were. He’d heard stories in the small nearby town of young men and women who had gone missing at the lake under suspicious circumstances, but he’d thought it was more likely they’d run away. It was impossible to imagine that anyone would want to be stuck here, so of course they’d taken whatever chance to get away. It was what he would do.

By the look of things, he hadn’t been quite correct, but he thought he could be excused for assuming the more mundane explanation was the right one. Runaways were a lot more common than spectral horses that, if Hux remembered the legend right, tended to lure unsuspecting victims into the depths of the water.

The white kelpie stopped less than a dozen yards away, staring at Hux with those strange eyes. It seemed to be daring him to wade in or to run home, but for some reason Hux couldn’t decide which was the better option. On the one hand, he was likely to be drowned and eaten if he entered the water, but on the other hand…

On the other hand there was no one waiting for him at home, at least no one that would care if he returned. It had been years since Hux’s father had talked to him for more than just the bare necessities, and he had never been a particularly warm or inviting presence. At least for Hux, because for Brendol Jr. he seemed everything a child could want in a father and more. It had haunted Hux at first, that his own father could care so little for him, but the combination of a caustic stepmother and a spiteful half-brother soon drove away any ideas he’d had about feeling like his family was really where he belonged.

It honestly wasn’t much of a life, and perhaps this was the chance at escape he’d been waiting so desperately for. The legends could be wrong or the kelpie could change its mind about killing him, but in any case he knew he’d made up his mind as soon as he saw the glowing creature. He had one shot at adventure and he was going to take it.

With a last less-than-mournful look at the hill behind which his family home stood, Hux stepped into the water. It was cold and the mud quickly seeped into every crevice of his boots. He ignored the sickly feel of the silty water and continued forward until he stood right in front of the kelpie. They stared at one another for a long moment before Hux shook his head and put his hand out.

“Here goes nothing.”

His hand sank into the side of the beast almost immediately, the skin thick and sticky. He didn’t try to pull free, just reached his other hand out so he could mount as best as possible when the kelpie bent its front knees a little. It was hard work, but soon he was sitting astride the kelpie’s back, stuck fast at every point where their bodies met. Seeing he was settled, the kelpie threw back its head, letting out a high-pitched neigh like nails on chalkboard that was echoed by the other creatures still surrounding them before it plunged into the water.

Icy water surrounded them and Hux kept his mouth stubbornly shut, determined to wait as long as possible before he was forced to breath in. He could barely see through the murky water, but it seemed to him that they were descending far further than where the bottom of the lake should have been. Whatever faerie magic was at work here, though, probably didn’t have to conform to things like that.

The water suddenly cleared and Hux looked around in awe. He thought for one delirious moment that it was oxygen deprivation that had him seeing houses and people- though they probably weren’t actually humans- walking around on the lake floor, but what he saw was too amazing to worry about that.

The kelpie landed on the ground and knelt down. It seemed to be waiting for Hux to dismount, so he did, surprised when he was able to without any trouble. As soon as he was down, the kelpie began changing right before Hux’s eyes.

In the space of a moment, a naked man was standing in its place, or at least something that looked like a man. He was tall but strong looking with long, inky black hair and skin as pale as the horse he had been before, eyes still blazing with some otherwordly light. A scar bisected his sparsely freckled face, crossing from just over his left eye to the right corner of his jaw.

Confused, Hux blinked rapidly, but the apparition was still there. His lungs were burning with the need for air and darkness was starting to encroach on the edges of his vision, and he swayed a little.

“Breath,” the kelpie ordered, voice dark and so much warmer than the water surrounding them.

Hux was so startled by him speaking and by being able to understand the words that he automatically took a breath in. To his surprise, he didn’t immediately choke on water. He could feel the water entering his mouth and throat and lungs, but somehow it was more like breathing in air than water. He continued to breathe, bewildered by this new strangeness, and the darkness and dizziness began to diminish.

“What is going on?” Hux asked once he felt like he’d finally found a little of his balance. He looked around, noticing that the black kelpies had also transformed and were forming a ring around them like they were expecting something. “Why am I not dead yet? What do you want with me?”

“So many questions,” the kelpie replied, shaking his head, though Hux thought he looked amused. “I’ve watched you, you know, seen you walking along our lake with so much loneliness and bitterness in your eyes. But I didn’t want to kill you, there’s too much fire in you.”

Hux frowned, thrown entirely off guard by being so casually told that he’d been watched for who knew how long. “That answers one question, but not the others,” he said, struggling to hold on to that fire the kelpie claimed he had instead of letting uncertainty take over. “What do you want with me?”

“I want to marry you.”

Hux expected laughter from the surrounding beings, but there was only silence. He looked around and saw smiles on their faces, eyes seeming to glow even more intensely. They looked pleased by this pronouncement and for the first time Hux wondered what made this kelpie so different from the ones around them.

“Who are you?” Hux asked, trying to keep his voice strong and not show how confused and even scared he was.

“I’m Kylo Ren, crown prince of the kelpies of this lake,” he replied, smiling indulgently. It made Hux want to punch his ethereally beautiful face. “And you, Hux, will be my bride.”

Hux couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter, waving his hand when Kylo Ren frowned. His mind was racing overtime, trying to understand this situation he’d found himself in. In all honesty, there wasn’t really any choice if it came down to death by drowning or marrying a kelpie. It couldn’t be any worse than the life he’d left behind, and if he was lucky, living with faeries under the lake could prove to be everything he’d ever wanted and more.

“Provided I agree to this,” Hux said, taking a step forward that was as good an agreement as any, “what exactly would that mean for me?”

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit welcome. If you like my fic, feel free to come hit me up [on tumblr](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/)!


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